N-phenyl derivatives are relevant in different fields, and eventually dispersed in the environment. Thus, N-phenyl ureas, a group of herbicides believed to inhibit photosynthesis, are highly persistent, with half-life times of several months. N-phenyl carbamates are widely used insecticides (inhibiting acetylcholinesterase) and herbicides (inhibiting e^--transfer in thylakoids, uncoupling photo- and oxidative phosphorylations). An additional example may be N-Phenyl-Glycine, commonly used in the synthesis of textile dyes. The available mechanistic studies on the direct and photocatalysed photodegradation of these compounds are conflicting and scarce [1]. We decided to carry out comparative mechanistic studies on their direct and TiO₂-photocatalysed UV aqueous photodegradation [2].

We report on both the photophysics and photochemistry of different N-phenyl derivatives, including photoproducts, rate studies, quantum yields, ionization potentials, reduction potentials and pKa's of short-lived intermediates, etc. These data help us elucidate the mechanisms of the different processes under study, both for the direct and for the TiO₂-photocatalysed UV photodegradation.

Acknowledgement: the Xunta de Galicia (Spain) financed this research through project PGIDIT05TAM10301PR.

[1] H. D. Burrows, L, M. Canle, J. A. Santaballa, S. Steenken, J. Photochem. Photobiol. B: Biology 2002, 67(2), 71.

[2] a) M. L. Canle, M. I. Fernandez, S. Rodriguez, J. A. Santaballa, S. Steenken, E. Vulliet, Chem. Phys. Chem. 2005, 6, 2064. b) L. M. Canle, J. A. Santaballa, E. Vulliet, J. Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chemistry 2005, 175, 192. c) L. M. Canle, J. A. Santaballa, S. Steenken, Chem. Eur. J. 1999, 5, 1192.

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